First Call: Ben Roethlisberger thinks Mason Rudolph should compete for starting job; ESPN has 3 other Steelers QB ideas
In Wednesday’s “First Call,” Ben Roethlisberger endorses the idea of giving Mason Rudolph a chance to start at quarterback next year in Pittsburgh. An ESPN analyst has other ideas for the Steelers to pursue. The Browns are making major changes.
And Robert Morris looks to avoid a first on the basketball court.
Here we go again
It’s only been two years since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, and the Steelers may already be forced to reconfigure their plan to replace him.
Signing Mitch Trubisky to be a placeholder until Kenny Pickett was ready to start lasted less than four full games in 2022. Pickett got hurt late this season and couldn’t get his job back from Mason Rudolph. Now Rudolph is a free agent, and it’s unclear what the team plans to do with him.
Pickett is only in the third year of his entry-level contract. It’s presumed he’ll be given a chance to get the starting job back. But who will be with him in the quarterback room? Will Rudolph stay? Will the Steelers want to keep him? Are they going to move on from Mitch Trubisky or draft someone in the first three rounds that could push for the job?
In any event, there must be more than merely Pickett to contend with.
Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN commentator Dan Orlovsky proposed three names the Steelers should take into consideration on Tuesday’s NFL Live show.
According to a transcript from SteelersDepot.com, Orlovsky stated, “The No. 1 call should be to Chicago, and you’re trying to see where they stand with Justin Fields, if they’re going to take somebody at No. 1 or keep him.” “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be the second call. Given that they are in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, I don’t think Baker Mayfield will leave them, but that would be my second guess. The Vikings would be my third call. “What are your thoughts on Kirk Cousins?”
All three of those acquisitions strike me as being big enough names that they would be replacements for Pickett as the starter more than competition for him. Especially when you consider the trade assets the Bears would want for Fields and the financial commitment that would go along with Cousins.
In that sense, Mayfield would be the easiest to handle. Nevertheless, he seems like a solid fit in Tampa, so I assume the Bucs would be willing to renegotiate his contract and retain him for the long run. Furthermore, Mayfield recently won the NFC South with a weak Tampa Bay squad that might improve if he stays, so why would he want to go back to the cruel AFC North?
Getting one of the other two and designating Pickett as the backup is something I’m not against. However, I disagree with what it would take to trade Fields for a quarterback in the playoffs, as I don’t believe such trade will be successful.
If Cousins is willing to come to Pittsburgh with less pressure to be 100% healthy in August (and for less money than elsewhere) following last year’s Achilles injury and he knows that Pickett can start until he is, then the Cousins possibility is intriguing if the Vikings decide not to retain him. My belief is that Cousins will eventually find a better scenario in the market, possibly in New England, with a new coaching staff.
The greatest option might be a draft selection made sometime during the first two days if the Steelers decide not to keep Rudolph as Pickett’s legitimate opponent from the beginning.
